Astrocytes in Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Disorders: Shifting the Focus from Neurons

Abstract

Glial cells have emerged as essential participants in most aspects of brain development, behaviour and disease. Renewed interest into astrocyte biology has transpired due to the fact that astrocytes are active participants with neurons in activities ranging from neural circuit formation, brain information processing, metabolic support to synaptogenesis and synaptic activity. Any perturbations in astrocyte function especially during pathological conditions may thus have profound effects on the optimal functioning or even survival of neurons. In this chapter, we provide a brief history about the discovery of astrocyte, discuss basic questions such as; what do astrocytes do? How astrocytes respond to inflammation? and their role in neuroinflammatory disorders? More specifically, the chapter details the role of astrocytes in the pathogenesis of Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) associated neurocognitive disorders. The chapter also discusses how changes in astrocyte morphology and function results in dysregulation of astrocytic responses during inflammatory injury and its repercussions that ultimately leads to neuronal dysfunction or death. Finally, we discuss recent advances in how the knowledge about astrocytes has fostered newer ideas about brain functions and disease, which offer therapeutic leads to treat neuroinflammatory disorders. In summary, recent studies have provided novel insights into the role of astrocytes in a wide variety of neuroinflammatory and neurocognitive diseases, and future research on astrocyte pathophysiology is expected to provide new perspectives on importance of astrocytes in healthy and diseased brain.